MALAYSIANS threw away 4,081 tonnes of edible food a day last year, a news report said today.

According to The Star, 38,219 tonnes of solid waste was generated daily in Malaysia last year.

Quoting data from the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp), the report said Malaysians produced 17,000 tonnes of food waste per day in 2021.

“Seventy-six per cent of that was inedible, such as bones and fruit skin, while the remaining 24% were edible, such as leftover meat and vegetables,” said SWCorp.

It said the amount of food discarded daily last year was only slightly less than the 17,041 tonnes of food waste per day in 2020.

SWCorp urged  people to plan their purchases so that they would throw away less.

“Keep and arrange food according to the ‘first in, first out’ concept by labelling the food items with the date you keep them and put the earlier ones in front or on top so that you will use them first,” said SWCorp, which has launched  a “Value Food, No Waste” campaign.

It also advised consumers to keep fruits such as bananas, apples and pears away from other produce as they release ethylene gas as they ripen, causing food around them to ripen and spoil faster.

On leftovers, SWCorp said they could be repurposed to make new meals, shared or donated. They could also be turned into compost. – June 6, 2022.